Personal account protection system
A security system for a transaction card having a magnetized strip, protection icon, account number, name, and expiration date displayed visually on an external portion of the card is provided. The protection icon is adjacent the account number. A personal identification number has at least three characters and is recorded on the magnetized strip along with the personal identification number, account number, name, and expiration date. The protection icon is adapted to activate a digital lock in the computerized terminal that disables any transfer of the account number, name, and expiration date if one or more characters of the personal identification number are present in the display. A processor is disposed inside the computerized terminal and is adapted to delete each of the characters of the uploaded personal identification number from the computerized terminal and each symbol from the display. A digital key enables transfer of the account number, name, and expiration date from the computerized terminal if all characters of a personal identification number have been entered on the keypad and deleted from the display. A method of using the transaction card with its security system is also provided.
This application is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 10/932,644, filed Sep. 2, 2004, now abandoned entitled PERSONAL ACCOUNT PROTECTION SYSTEM, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a system and method for authorizing a cashless transaction and, more particularly, to an electronic security system for commercial transactions.
Transaction cards, and in particular, credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards, have become a common device through which to purchase a variety of goods and services. When a transaction cardholder presents the card to a merchant for the purchase of goods or services, or for receiving currency, authorization from the card issuer is desired by the merchant in order to minimize theft and potential risk of loss to the merchant and/or card issuing company.
The systems currently in place for preventing use of stolen or lost credit cards typically include reliance upon the cardholder's name and account number that is embossed on the card. Many cards have special designs, holograms, or some other form of identification such as a photo of the cardholder on the card. Most credit card companies require that the card be signed on the reverse side by the cardholder. This signature is then compared by a merchant with the signature on the sales receipt which must also be signed by the cardholder. If the signatures appear to be the same, then the card is deemed to be valid and the credit is awarded. However, it is easy for a forger to see the signature on the back of the card and practice that signature until a reasonable match can be provided by the forger. Many forgers are successful using this scheme. Consequently, many credit card issuing companies continue to pay for unauthorized charges until the cardholder learns that his or her card is missing and reports it to the credit card issuing company.
Accordingly, a security system that prevents fraudulent transactions that may result from unauthorized possession of lost or stolen credit cards or sales slips, and that requires very minor changes to a transaction card and the transaction method is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONOne aspect of the present invention is a transaction card security system including a transaction card having a magnetized strip, protection icon, account number, name, and expiration date displayed visually on an external portion of the card. The protection icon, account number, name, and expiration date are recorded on the magnetized strip. A personal identification number having at least three characters is associated with the account and also recorded on the magnetized strip. The personal identification number, account number, name, and expiration date are adapted for uploading to a computerized terminal. The computerized terminal is adapted to recognize the protection icon. A display is disposed on the computerized terminal and shows a symbol representative of each character in the personal identification number. A keypad is also disposed on the computerized terminal. The protection icon activates a digital lock in the computerized terminal that disables any transfer of the account number, name, and expiration date if one or more symbols representative of the characters of the personal identification number are present in the display. A processor is disposed inside the computerized terminal and is adapted to delete each of the characters of the personal identification number from the computerized terminal and each symbol from the display. A digital key enables transfer of the account number, name, and expiration date from the computerized terminal if all characters of a personal identification number have been entered on the keypad and the corresponding symbols have been deleted from the display.
Another aspect of the present invention is a transaction card security method including transferring transaction card information from a transaction card to a computerized terminal having a display and a keypad. The transaction card information is temporarily stored on the computerized terminal. A personal identification number is required to complete the transaction. A predetermined number of symbols are shown on the display of the computerized terminal and those symbols are representative of the number of characters of the personal identification number. Each character of the personal identification number is entered on the computerized terminal. Each symbol representing a character of the personal identification number is deleted from the computerized terminal as each character of the personal identification number is entered into the keypad. Transaction card information is transferred from the terminal to the card issuing company after all of the characters of the personal identification number have been entered and the corresponding symbols have been deleted from the terminal display successfully. The transaction is then allowed to proceed.
The personal identification number exists only in the mind of the card member and does not travel with the transaction for completion. Because current account numbers can be used, the system is cost effective for the credit/debit card industry.
These and other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to a person of ordinary skill upon reading the following description and claims together with reference to the accompanying drawings.
For purposes of description herein the terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “rear”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
As illustrated in
The computerized terminal 28 recognizes the protection icon 16 and downloads the personal identification number 24, account number 18, name 20 and expiration date 22. A display 26 is disposed on the computerized terminal 28 and is capable of showing the number of characters in the personal identification number 24, as shown in
A digital key 34 in the processor 32 overrides the digital lock 31 but is only activated when all characters of the personal identification number 24 have been entered on the keypad 30 and deleted from the display 26. The digital key 34 allows the processor 32 to transfer the account number 18, name 20, and expiration date 22 from the computerized terminal 28 to the card issuing company. If the personal identification number 24 is never fully deleted from the display 26, or if the transaction is aborted, then the digital lock 31 continues to disable any transfer of uploaded information.
As illustrated in
Referring to
In operation, the transaction system 12, as previously described, may be implemented as follows. Referring to
The present invention provides a simple and efficient solution to transaction card fraud. The instant invention is an improvement over previous security systems because it adds another degree of security to transaction card transactions by requiring that a personal identification number be deleted from the computerized terminal before cardholder information can be transferred.
The above description is considered that of the preferred embodiments only. Modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above is merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law, including the Doctrine of Equivalents.
Claims
1. A transaction card security system, comprising:
- a transaction card having a magnetized strip, protection icon, account number, name, and expiration date displayed visually on an external portion of the card, wherein the protection icon, account number, name, and expiration date are recorded on the magnetized strip;
- a personal identification number having at least three characters and recorded on the magnetized strip;
- a computerized terminal having a display that shows a symbol representative of each character in the personal identification number;
- a keypad disposed on the computerized terminal;
- wherein the personal identification number, account number, name, and expiration date are adapted for uploading to the computerized terminal;
- wherein the computerized terminal is adapted to recognize the protection icon and is adapted to activate a digital lock in the computerized terminal that disables any transfer of the account number, name and expiration date if one or more of the symbols representative of the characters of the personal identification number are present in the display;
- a processor disposed inside the computerized terminal and adapted to delete each of the characters of the personal identification number from the computerized terminal and each symbol from the display; and
- a digital key that enables transfer of the account number, name, and expiration date from the computerized terminal if all characters of the personal identification number have been entered on the keypad and the symbols representative of the characters have been deleted from the display.
2. The transaction card security system of claim 1, wherein the protection icon immediately precedes or follows the account number.
3. The transaction card security system of claim 1, wherein:
- the back of the transaction card includes a signature box.
4. The transaction card security system of claim 3, wherein:
- a security number is disposed on the back of the card.
5. The transaction card security system of claim 3, wherein:
- the digital key is adapted to send a deactivation message to a card issuing company.
6. A transaction card security method comprising:
- transferring transaction card information from a transaction card to a computerized terminal having a display and a keypad;
- temporarily storing the transaction card information on the computerized terminal;
- displaying a request for entry of a personal identification number to complete a transaction;
- showing a predetermined number of symbols on the display of the computerized terminal that are representative of the number of characters of the personal identification number;
- continuing the transaction process after each correct character of the personal identification number is entered on the computerized terminal;
- deleting each symbol representing a character of the personal identification number from the computerized terminal as each correct character of the personal identification number is entered; and
- transferring transaction card information from the terminal to a card issuing company after each correct character of the personal identification number has been entered successfully.
7. The transaction card security method of claim 6, further comprising the step of:
- deactivating the transaction card after a predetermined number of unsuccessful attempts to delete the personal identification number have been tried.
8. The transaction card security method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:
- allotting a predetermined period of time for unsuccessful attempts to be made to delete the personal identification number.
4066873 | January 3, 1978 | Schatz |
5446273 | August 29, 1995 | Leslie |
5982506 | November 9, 1999 | Kara |
6158003 | December 5, 2000 | Kara |
6282304 | August 28, 2001 | Novikov et al. |
6412690 | July 2, 2002 | Malki |
6487662 | November 26, 2002 | Kharon et al. |
6685087 | February 3, 2004 | Brown et al. |
6851619 | February 8, 2005 | Wesseling et al. |
6871287 | March 22, 2005 | Ellingson |
6923378 | August 2, 2005 | Jones et al. |
6926200 | August 9, 2005 | Hayashida |
6991152 | January 31, 2006 | Edens et al. |
7016852 | March 21, 2006 | Lee |
20020031245 | March 14, 2002 | Rozenberg et al. |
20040010466 | January 15, 2004 | Anderson |
20070083460 | April 12, 2007 | Bachenheimer |
Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 23, 2005
Date of Patent: Feb 5, 2008
Patent Publication Number: 20060043173
Inventor: Howard C. Weaver (Kentwood, MI)
Primary Examiner: Thien Minh Le
Attorney: Price, Heneveld, Cooper, DeWitt & Litton LLP
Application Number: 11/234,654
International Classification: G06K 5/00 (20060101);